100 books like On Dialogue

By David Bohm,

Here are 100 books that On Dialogue fans have personally recommended if you like On Dialogue. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Book cover of Thinking in Systems

Paul Gavoni Author Of Quick Wins! Using Behavior Science to Accelerate and Sustain School Improvement

From my list on improve organizational performance in any industry.

Why am I passionate about this?

Navigating through schools with profound behavioral challenges firsthand, I've felt the pressing need for a shift. An undeniable call. Enter Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), leadership, and systems thinking. Remember that school everyone had given up on? With the precision of OBM, and the right dose of leadership, I've seen it transform from chaos to cohesion. My role? Think of me as a coach, steering schools towards structured strategies, turning behavioral disruptions into harmonious learning ecosystems. In the intricate dance between behavioral science and leadership, I stand firm, unwavering in my commitment to reshape schools, ensuring they rise from their challenges to become paragons of growth and transformation.

Paul's book list on improve organizational performance in any industry

Paul Gavoni Why did Paul love this book?

This is not just a book, but a compelling primer that remarkably resonates with the principles of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM). The systems thinking approach became instrumental for me, offering a unique framework to dissect and optimize organizational dynamics within schools.

Meadows illuminates the intricate webs of systems failures, a perspective that parallels the OBM approach of viewing organizations holistically rather than in silos. Her insistence on recognizing the interconnectedness of elements, embracing continuous learning, and valuing nonquantifiable aspects are tenets that echo in the world of OBM.

For those of us aiming to enhance organizational effectiveness and foster a proactive culture, Thinking in Systems serves as a masterclass, transcending its primary context to offer universal value to any organization, including schools and districts.

By Donella Meadows,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Thinking in Systems as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The classic book on systems thinking, with more than half a million copies sold worldwide!

This is a fabulous book. This book opened my mind and reshaped the way I think about investing. Forbes

Perfect for fans of Kate Raworth, Rutger Bregman and Daniel Kahneman!

The co-author of the international best-selling book Limits to Growth, Donella Meadows is widely regarded as a pioneer in the environmental movement and one of the world's foremost systems analysts . Her posthumously published Thinking in Systems, is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on scales ranging from the personal to…


Book cover of Holistic Wealth: 32 Life Lessons to Help You Find Purpose, Prosperity, and Happiness

Rhiannon Beaubien Author Of General Thinking Concepts

From my list on for understanding the world we live in.

Why am I passionate about this?

I want to make the world a better place. After many failed attempts to achieve this goal, I realized that I didn’t understand the world well enough to make a positive impact. Serendipitously, I started working with Farnam Street, a company that is dedicated to mastering the best of what other people have figured out. One of our most significant projects is The Great Mental Models book series, which consists of four volumes of fundamentals about the world. Learning and using the models to co-write this book series is how I found all the books on this list. I plan to give a set to each of my children to give them a jump start on living effectively. 

Rhiannon's book list on for understanding the world we live in

Rhiannon Beaubien Why did Rhiannon love this book?

We are all going to lose someone we love. We are all going to go through the pain of people we care about dying. We are all going to contemplate our mortality at some point and wonder if what we’re doing has much of a point, if we could do better, and if we could make life a little less painful somehow.

Keisha Blair lost her husband when they were both in their thirties, when their son was 8 weeks old. She shares what she learned about building from that wreckage in Holistic Wealth. The book puts the pain of loss front and center, and then offers insights from stories and interviews on how to take care of our money, our relationships, and our spirituality, and thus ourselves.

By Keisha Blair,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Holistic Wealth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Build a better, richer life by following thirty-two lessons that lead to happiness.
Imagine a life where you are financially savvy and independent, living with purpose and generosity while inspiring others. Holistic Wealth will teach you to master these tenets of a happy and joyful life, giving you a greater sense of wholeness and resilience in times of difficulty.
By expanding on the teachings shared in her viral article "My Husband Died at 34; Here Are 40 Life Lessons I Learned From It" author Keisha Blair presents revolutionary strategies that will help you find balance and success. By following actionable,…


Book cover of Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life

Sara Nasserzadeh Author Of Love by Design: 6 Ingredients to Build a Lifetime of Love

From my list on how to move from surviving to thriving in your relationships.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an author, speaker, researcher, and thinking partner with a PhD in Social Psychology and specialization in the fields of human sexuality, intercultural fluency, and relationships. I have over two decades of experience working with individuals, couples, companies, and governments across 40 countries. I truly believe that we can create world peace one relationship at a time, and embrace it as my mission. My third book in English, Love By Design, is the result of two-decade-long research on the status of thriving relationships and its key ingredients. These could be applied to relationships in all spaces, from bedrooms (most intimate) to the boardrooms (most public).

Sara's book list on how to move from surviving to thriving in your relationships

Sara Nasserzadeh Why did Sara love this book?

Dr. Emily Nagoski's approach to understanding the intricacies of human sexuality is not only refreshing but also deeply insightful and relatable. This book doesn't just scratch the surface; it delves into the complexities of desire, arousal, and satisfaction with unparalleled clarity.

What sets it apart is Nagoski's ability to distill complex scientific research into practical, accessible guidance for couples. The messages are simple (although scientifically sound). 

I've seen this book empowering individuals to embrace their unique sexual selves and foster a deeper, more fulfilling connection with their partners. It's a must-read for anyone seeking to enhance intimacy and revitalize their sex life.

By Emily Nagoski,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Come as You Are as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER.

An essential exploration of women's sexuality that will radically transform your sex life into one filled with confidence and joy.

After all the books that have been written about sex, all the blogs and TV shows and radio Q&As, how can it be that we all still have so many questions? The frustrating reality is that we've been lied to - not deliberately, it's no one's fault, but still. We were told the wrong story.

Come as You Are reveals the true story behind female sexuality, uncovering the little-known science of what makes us tick…


Book cover of The Country of First Boys: And Other Essays

Rhiannon Beaubien Author Of General Thinking Concepts

From my list on for understanding the world we live in.

Why am I passionate about this?

I want to make the world a better place. After many failed attempts to achieve this goal, I realized that I didn’t understand the world well enough to make a positive impact. Serendipitously, I started working with Farnam Street, a company that is dedicated to mastering the best of what other people have figured out. One of our most significant projects is The Great Mental Models book series, which consists of four volumes of fundamentals about the world. Learning and using the models to co-write this book series is how I found all the books on this list. I plan to give a set to each of my children to give them a jump start on living effectively. 

Rhiannon's book list on for understanding the world we live in

Rhiannon Beaubien Why did Rhiannon love this book?

Most people, I think, when they start to understand the world better, they start to see the endless ways that it could be improved. Some of us though, we get stuck in the ideas of improvement, and never figure out how to just get on with it.

Amartya Sen won a Nobel Prize and has other thought-provoking books. But I like this one. The Country of First Boys is a series of essays that are technically about various issues in India, but which are easily extrapolated to depressingly common situations in most other countries. Central to the essays is the theme of not letting the idea of a perfectly just society get in the way of the business of reducing injustice. We can debate utopia until we take our last breath, but in the meantime, Sen inspires us that there is much we can do now to improve the world…

By Amartya Sen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Country of First Boys as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Time and again Amartya Sen, Nobel laureate and polymath, has stimulated our thoughts and world-view through his ideas. In his new collection of cultural essays Sen examines social justice and welfare, by addressing some of the fundamental issues of our time like deprivation, disparity, hunger, illiteracy, alienation, globalization, media, freedom of speech, injustice, inequality, exclusion, and exploitation.

Sens deeply informed and humane writing connects history, culture, literature, economics, and politics. Several of the essays are concerned particularly with India - its historical traditions and the issues it faces today; many - such as his address to the General Assembly of…


Book cover of The Essential David Bohm

Dan Schilling Author Of The Power of Awareness: And Other Secrets from the World's Foremost Spies, Detectives, and Special Operators on How to Stay Safe and Save Your Life

From my list on for the rest of us to absorb Buddhist essence.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became Buddhist while I was working in Southeast Asia, in Thailand specifically. Here’s one of the great lessons I learned, or perhaps it’s merely a koan, and that is this, no true Buddhist is Buddhist. It’s my own saying and one that I live by because Zen, Tibetan or Theravada are all structured disciplines with ritual and even recognized leaders. And I think the Buddha would laugh one of his full bellied roars to learn that there were, in some cases, global organizations all named in his honor. That’s not to make light of the way of organized Buddhism, merely to say that it isn’t my way.

Dan's book list on for the rest of us to absorb Buddhist essence

Dan Schilling Why did Dan love this book?

I first encountered the philosophy of physicist Bohm in another book by the philosopher Renée Weber (Dialogues with Scientists and Sages) in which she, the Dalai Lama, and Bohm (among others) explore, well, everything. But Bohm’s own exploration blends Buddhist concepts with physics. One of the many reasons I am Buddhist myself is its architecture and allowance for new concepts including physics theory and the reality of light itself. His implicate order for the universe explains more about its reality than accepted current theory. I’m no physicist nor towering intellectual, but I am following the Buddha’s advice to figure it out for myself. This book helped immensely. Sadly his work is overlooked by the scientific community.

By Lee Nichol,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Essential David Bohm as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There are few scientists of the twentieth century whose life's work has created more excitement and controversy than that of physicist David Bohm (1917-1992). For the first time in a single volume, The Essential David Bohm offers a comprehensive overview of Bohm's original works from a non-technical perspective. Including three chapters of previously unpublished material, each reading has been selected to highlight some aspect of the implicate order process, and to provide an introduction to one of the most provocative thinkers of our time.


Book cover of On Creativity

Tom McLeish Author Of The Poetry and Music of Science: Comparing Creativity in Science and Art

From my list on creativity in science and art.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have worked in scientific research and teaching for over 30 years, and maintained a love of art and music as well, but am saddened when I hear statements, especially from high-school pupils, that ‘there is no room for creativity or imagination in science.’ Like all working scientists, I know that imagination is the most important faculty for a scientist. The Poetry and Music of Science is my project to tease out the creative threads in the scientific process, and also to find the buried pathways that link science with the arts and humanities. The journey of discovery has been full of surprises and delights for me.

Tom's book list on creativity in science and art

Tom McLeish Why did Tom love this book?

David Bohm is celebrated for creating a completely different theory of quantum mechanics, equally adept and accounting for experiments but conceptually irreconcilable from those of Schrödinger and Heisenberg. Put that together with his broad and deep understanding of culture, and you have a uniquely sensitive and original take on creativity. I particularly like his sharp critique of superficial ‘creativity’ which he claims is mostly reflex. Bohm helps his readers to see that ‘discovery’ and ‘creation’ cannot easily be disentangled.

By David Bohm,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked On Creativity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Creativity is fundamental to human experience. In On Creativity David Bohm, the world-renowned scientist, investigates the phenomenon from all sides: not only the creativity of invention and of imagination but also that of perception and of discovery. This is a remarkable and life-affirming book by one of the most far-sighted thinkers of modern times.


Book cover of Cosmometry: Exploring the HoloFractal Nature of the Cosmos

Lauren Walker Author Of The Energy to Heal: Find Lasting Freedom From Stress and Trauma Through Energy Medicine Yoga

From my list on understanding what energy is and how to use it.

Why am I passionate about this?

I remember being a kid and wanting to know everything about everything. After I’d been teaching yoga for several years, and finding myself struggling with stress and trauma that the yoga wasn’t helping, I really started to dive into the world of Energy. That world is fascinating, endless, and powerful. And the more I study and learn, the better my life gets. I’ve created my own teaching methodology from all the studies I’ve done and helped thousands of people find their own inner strength and healing. I love learning how other people overcame their struggles and how at the root, we basically all want to help each other! That's the kind of world I aspire to. 

Lauren's book list on understanding what energy is and how to use it

Lauren Walker Why did Lauren love this book?

This book is dogeared, highlighted, sticky noted, and I go back to it again and again. Now I will admit, I’m a science junkie, and I love to deepen my understanding of how the universe works. But I’m also not a scientist. Marshall’s book is accessible and scintillating, while at the same time teaching valuable and powerful lessons about physics, the nature of the universe, the nature of connection, sound, torsion, so much! If you like science but you’re afraid of big science books, this might be the time to treat yourself. This is one of those books you’ll go back to over and over again and always find something new to spark you!

By Marshall Lefferts,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cosmometry as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Throughout nature we can see patterns, structures, processes and systems that reflect an underlying order of energy dynamics that literally in-forms the observable universe across all scales. Cosmometry is the study of this underlying order, wherein cosmic geometry, unified physics and the harmonic system of music are seen as three lenses through which to view one phenomenon — universal dynamics of energy and matter manifesting in physical form and flow. Synthesizing foundational theories of Buckminster Fuller, David Bohm, Nassim Haramein, Foster Gamble, Richard Merrick and others, Cosmometry – Exploring the HoloFractal Nature of the Cosmos presents a new look at…


Book cover of What Is Real?: The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics

Tim Maudlin Author Of Philosophy of Physics: Quantum Theory

From my list on quantum theory and its history.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a professor of philosophy at New York University, but my interests have always fallen at the intersection of physics and philosophy. Unable to commit to just one side or the other, I got a joint degree in Physics and Philosophy from Yale and a PhD in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. My fascination with Bell’s Theorem began when I read an article in Scientific American in 1979, and I have been trying to get to the bottom of things ever since. My most recent large project is a Founder and Director of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics.

Tim's book list on quantum theory and its history

Tim Maudlin Why did Tim love this book?

Becker’s book is the most reliable popular account of the history of quantum theory from 1925 you can find. Many of the common myths about that history are dispelled, and much attention is paid to later figures like Bell, David Bohm, and Hugh Everett, who kept the discussion of foundational issues alive. A good introduction for the general reader.

By Adam Becker,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked What Is Real? as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation and dismissed questions about the reality underlying quantum physics as meaningless. A mishmash of solipsism and poor reasoning, Copenhagen endured, as Bohr's students vigorously protected his legacy, and the physics community favoured practical experiments over philosophical arguments. As a result, questioning the status quo long meant professional ruin. And yet, from the 1920s to today, physicists like John Bell, David Bohm, and Hugh Everett persisted in…


Book cover of Synchronicity: The Bridge Between Matter and Mind

Allan Combs Author Of Synchronicity: Through the Eyes of Science, Myth, and the Trickster

From my list on synchronicity and the power of the unconscious.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a teacher and writer, drawn to the topic of synchronicity because I have experienced so many remarkable coincidences during my life that it seems I have no choice but to study them. As a young man, I spent much time working with dreams, coming to understand them especially through Carl Jung’s explorations of archetypes, myths, and the deep unconscious. This led naturally to the study of synchronicity. I am also interested in the related topic of consciousness and have written several books about it. Out of all this I have come to see the cosmos as a strangely mysterious and wonderfully orchestrated community of beings and events.

Allan's book list on synchronicity and the power of the unconscious

Allan Combs Why did Allan love this book?

This is a brilliant book by a physicist and highly creative thinker. David Peat worked personally with David Bohm in coming to understand the universe as a deep holographic process, one in which the meaning of real events is hidden and enfolded in the “implicate order” beyond time and space. Peat’s literary touch makes this book a must for those who love the study of synchronicity.

By David Peat,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Synchronicity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With fascinating historical anecdotes and incisive scientific analysis, this important work combines ancient thought with modern theory to reveal a new way of viewing our universe that can expand our awareness, our lives, and may well point the way to a new science for the twenty-first century.


Book cover of Writing to Be Understood: What Works and Why

Tom Albrighton Author Of How to Write Clearly: Write with purpose, reach your reader and make your meaning crystal clear

From my list on to make your writing crystal clear.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been working with words for over 25 years, as a writer and editor in publishing houses, design studios, and now as a freelance. I help everyone from big brands and small businesses through to academics and consultants get their ideas out of their heads and on to the page. I was an original co-founder of ProCopywriters, the UK alliance for commercial writers. I’ve written and self-published four books, the most recent of which is How to Write Clearly. The books I’ve chosen all helped me to write as clearly as I can—not least when writing about writing itself. I hope they help you too! 

Tom's book list on to make your writing crystal clear

Tom Albrighton Why did Tom love this book?

Some writing guides can be a little bit “citation needed.” The author certainly sounds like they mean it—but where’s the proof? 

There’s no such problem with Anne Janzer’s superb Writing to be Understood. Setting out to get to the heart of what makes a piece of text clear and memorable, she offers a masterclass in clear and expressive writing. 

Along the way, she interviews experts in every area from non-fiction writing to psychology, risk management, behavioral design, and even comedy, bringing their authoritative guidance directly into her book. Read, learn, and see your writing improve.

By Anne H. Janzer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Writing to Be Understood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Have you ever wondered what makes your favorite nonfiction books so compelling, understandable, or enjoyable to read? Those works connect with you, as a reader. When you recognize what's happening, you can apply those same methods to your own writing.

Writing To Be Understood is the thinking writer's guide to effective nonfiction writing techniques, such as:

- Using analogies to illustrate unseen concepts
- Appealing to the reader's innate curiosity
- Balancing humility with credibility

For each topic, the book combines insights from cognitive science with advice from writers and expert practitioners in fields of psychology, technology, economics, medicine, policy,…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in communication, dialogue in, and philosophy?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about communication, dialogue in, and philosophy.

Communication Explore 62 books about communication
Dialogue In Explore 13 books about dialogue in
Philosophy Explore 1,551 books about philosophy